Tips on saving money on electric bill

Saving energy = saving money.

Every day we use a lot of energy for our daily routines, this is just part of living in the modern world. There are numerous ways to save in energy costs that require us to change our behavior. Either by turning of the lights every time we leave a room, wash your clothes in cold water, unplug the cellphone as soon as it's recharged and many more.

These measures, while they do indeed work, tend to be temporary for most people. There are however several ways that do not require you to change anything in your daily routines that can help you reduce your electricity bill. So if you want to save energy and lower your energy costs, reduce your carbon footprint or just have cool gadgets these ideas are really for you.

Natural electricity - hard to harness. | Source

Saving money by using less energy

Saving energy at home is nothing but a good thing. You cut the need for fossil fuels and save yourself some money while you're at it.

But what's the best way? It takes time to change ones daily routine. You're maybe used to have the TV on at all times or maybe you like to have the computer running 24 hours a day. The best way to save energy usually requires a little work. Just turning of the TV and computer when not in use may alone reduce the cost by a few dollars each month.

There are however ways to save energy without any change to your usual lifestyle. Some may take a bit of work to get implemented though. But hey, if it saves money in the long run it must be a good thing.

LED bulbs

LED light bulbs are a great and easy way to save money on the electric bill. They aren't nearly as expensive as you would think and their lifetime can be up to 50.000 hours (that's almost 6 years of constant non stop use) and the very low energy consumption make them really a no-brainer. A typical LED bulb uses about 6-9W of energy compared to 40-60W of usual incandescence bulbs.

If you take a home with 10 light bulbs that are used on average 2 hours a day you are already saving about 20 kwh a month. Which means that in a short time the bulbs have saved enough money to pay for themselves, you won't need to change them nearly as often (saving time) and you're reducing the need for fossil-fuel which can even affect gas prices and is clearly good for the environment.

I recently bought the Philips Soft White LED light bulb to change all the light bulbs in my home to LED bulbs and I already see a difference in the electricity bill.

A programable thermostat

A thermostat that can adjust the home temperature to your daily routine is a great way to reduce energy costs without disrupting your daily lifestyle. Like the LED bulbs it is a little pricey but this should be considered an great investment as in about 1-2 years you should have saved enough money on your electric bill to offset the initial cost.

The NEST learning thermostat can learn your daily routines and adjust itself to save energy without you ever noticing. It's easy to install and most homeowners should be able to do it themselves.

It learns your daily routines and in accordance with them automatically changes the house temperature so that when you are usually not at home the heating/cooling is reduced, saving energy and thus reducing your monthly utilities bill.

Having your refigerator on the right setting

The refrigerator is one of those home appliances that use a lot of energy. you should always take care to have the refrigerators setting set to optimize cooling with as little energy used as possible to save on the electricity used. You should also always buy a refrigerator with a high energy efficiency.

A good rule of thumb is that should the back panel of the refrigerator freeze the setting is to high and you can lower it. But at the same time you need to make sure that the temperature stays mostly below the 4°C mark.

Installing a home solar cell system

Solar energy is a sustainable energy source that can be used to supplement or even replace electricity from fossil-fuels in your home. The return rate of a solar cell system investment is much lower than the previous ideas as it takes anywhere between 15-25 years to break even.This is however still a viable option as energy costs will likely go up in the near future. Besides it is also super cool.

Installing a solar cell system is a complex task and should require an electrician to complete. When installed you can enjoy pollution free energy whenever the sun shines.

You can also try it out with a small unit designed for boats or RV's. That way you can get the taste of solar energy, save energy from fossil fuels and reduce your pollution for a small price.

Insulation

Having good house insulation is a must for energy savings. Most modern houses already have excellent insulation but older ones might need better insulation. The savings from good insulation can offset the costs considerably in the long run. This is however harder to estimate as it depends on house to house.

You should also think of window insulation. If your windows are single glazed you might get a good deal from changing them over to double glazed or even triple glazed. That will reduce energy use considerably and even lower noise coming from the outside.

Saving energy in your car.

Fuel economy is one of the key things you should look at when buying a new or used car. Fuel economy is the ratio between the millage driven and the fuel used. So a higher number means better fuel economy which is good for your wallet.

Next time you replace the car you should consider buying the version that uses less fuel. Even if it means a little bit smaller engine or a little less torque. When you're sitting stuck in traffic the 300 horsepower that you have are rather useless and are just using up extra gas with no benefits.

So why not invest in a smaller car. It's easier on your wallet, good for the economy and helps keep the environment in a good shape.

Have your say.

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PhoenixV 2 years agofrom USA

I have been looking for ways on saving electricity because it's getting super expensive. I have bought some LED bulbs that say they only use 1/2 a watt. Great tips on saving energy, voted up.

ToxicFreeClub 3 years ago

Good tips!!!

mel-kav 3 years ago

I agree with the need for good insulation.

MissMalaprop 4 years ago

Insulation goes a long way! I live in New Orleans, where the summers get very HOT. Our old apartment wasn't well insulated, and once the AC went out in the middle of summer. It was miserable! Our new place has a lot of energy efficient features, including great insulation, and the exterior paint is supposed to have some sort of light reflective properties too. Even last year during a hurricane when the power was out for a week, it didn't get nearly as hot in our new place as it did in our old apartment, all because of the insulation!